I Promise
by Your Iron Lung
Summary: [Gerik x Joshua] When the whole company gets lost in the woods trying to find Natasha, certain feelings are revealed. A Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones fic.
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER

GW: I am not technologically advanced to have come up with a game as cool as this…alas…I don't own it or it's characters…

Joshua and Gerik stooped over a young boy who was bleeding from a serious wound in the hip. The boy was whimpering silently, his eyelids flickering open and closed. He had been hit by a bolt of lighting cast by a now mage.

"What do we do with him?" asked Gerik as he stared at the boy.

"The boy doesn't have much luck…I don't think he'll survive being carried to a stave, with all the blood he's lost…and even if he did survive, the chances of that being slim, he'd only live a few days. What he has gone through so far, is _nothing _to what he'll be in for when he dies…Now he is numb and feels no pain, but in an hour he'll be a screaming bundle of intolerable pain, every day that he lives being a howling torture. It doesn't matter whether he has-"

"Enough! Don't be so pessimistic!" Gerik looked out over the raging battlefield, watching people die in agony.

Ephraim had lanced the mage that had nearly killed the boy, and Ephraim charged forwards relentlessly. Saleh and Knoll worked together to bring down a paladin and his horse, which screamed in pain. The soldiers on horseback trampled over fallen corpses, ready to kill more. Corpses in some places had sunk into the mud, which also brought down noble war horses.

"Even if he survived, I doubt he'd be able to walk…" Joshua scratched his head in thought. "What to do…what to do…"

An arrow whizzed just over head, connecting with a sickening thud as arrow found the target. A swordsman had been sneaking up behind Joshua, ready to cut him down. Innes was standing a couple hundred feet away, bow still in hand. Across the field, where there was little to no action, Colm and Rennac trouped, robbing corpses that had not yet been sucked into the mud. Franz and Kyle raced through the field, lancing all who opposed or tried to stop their parade.

Joshua got out of his stoop and stared at Gerik questioningly. Gerik looked dumbfounded and when Joshua gestured to the boy he said:

"Oh no…don't look at me like that. I don't make life or death decisions!"

"You're a mercenary, bub! I suggest you start making them!"

"What does being a mercenary have anything to do with this?!"

Behind the, the battle was cooling down, Seth had just brought down their leader and the soldiers weren't sure of what to do. Lute quickly found an answer for them. She used her amazing talents with fire to surround the enemy and quickly incinerate them. Their howls and screams filled the air as their skin melted and drooped, then turned to ash.

The boy on the ground moaned and began to ask for his father. He began to twitch his fingers in pain; his eyelids wide open with fear now.

"Stop pushing me, dammit! I'll do something about it, sheesh!" Joshua bent low over the boys face and asked:

"Boy, what's your name?"

The boy stuttered "R-R-Ross…" he let out a gasp of pain. The numbness was passing.

"Hang on, Ross. I'm going to go find someone to help, all right?"

As Joshua rose to leave, Ross tugged onto his long red hair.

"D-don't…leave…me…"

"Don't worry! I'll be back with a stave!" Joshua put Ross's hand over his chest. "I promise."

Joshua left the boy on the ground with Gerik, who said he'd watch after him. He unsheathed one of his countries sacred weapons, Audhulma. His gazed drifted across the field, looking for the nearest healer. He saw Natasha standing frozen to the ground, a headless corpse laid before her. She was pale and shaking, but she would have to do.

"Nat-!" A swordsman attacked Joshua from behind. Joshua whipped around and sliced off the head of the inexperienced man.

"Natasha! Come! Quickly now!"

Natasha hesitated, staring into the blank eyes of the head that Joshua had just severed.

"Natasha! There's no time for this!" Joshua grabbed her hand, pulling her roughly to the spot where Ross lay. His breathing was rough and ragged, barely breathing at all. Gerik was patting his face to keep him from entering an eternal rest.

"Get to work, Natasha! He's going to die, and we can't let the famous Garcia's son die under our watch!"

Slowly, Natasha raised her robbed arms, wielding a staff and a healing light surrounded them.

The sound of hooves beating on the ground advanced quickly upon them. Joshua turned around to attack but was too late. The paladin wielding a lance was attacking Natasha.

An arrow pierced the horse's skin, delving deeply into its shoulder. It whinnied in pain and kicked it's rider off. The rider landed on his neck, making a sickening crunching sound.

Neimi stood on a hill; bow in hand with an arrow ready. Joshua tipped his hat in thanks, and Neimi smiled. She jogged away, into the mist that was slowly spreading.

Joshua redirected his attention to Ross, his wound now sealed, the bleeding had stopped. He was unconscious and laying in a pool of his own blood.

Gerik heaved a sigh of relief as Natasha lowered her staff.

"So…what do we do now?" Joshua asked, shifting his weight to the other foot.

"I suppose he'll have to be taken back to base…but how to get him there…" Gerik rubbed his forehead in miserable thought. "What a headache today has been…"

"Bah. The fighting's almost done anyway, let's just put on him on your back and haul him there ourselves. Or," he added when Gerik shot him a look of distrust, "We could get one of the horse boys to take him." Joshua looked out over the field, looking for Forde's yellow hair.

He found Franz, Forde's younger brother, instead. Gerik gently hefted Ross onto Franz's mount, and tied the small axe to the side of the saddle.

Franz didn't say much, for there wasn't much to say. He merely rode through the thickening mist, away towards their makeshift camp. Gerik got bored, and attacked a nearby archer. Innes lay his bow to rest, to watch the archer try to fend of Gerik's ruthless attacks. Seth's steed trotted around triumphantly, swishing its white mane about as if some in some parade.

Ephraim brought his mount around and raised his Reginleif above his head and declared:

"Noble warriors! Victory is ours! We have won this battle, just as I promised!"

A cheer rose up, echoing off the trees that surrounded them and quickly died down. Then, a scream tore through the air, catching everyone off guard. Joshua turned to look for Natasha, but she was nowhere to be seen.

GW: That's all for now, folks! Until next time!


	2. Chapter 2

Ephraim dismounted and walked around the small area that hadn't been shrouded in fog. He told the rest of his company to examine the corpse; to be sure that Natasha hadn't been killed by a soldier that had pretended to be dead.

Joshua couldn't help but feel slightly at fault, yet he did his best to hide it. Whenever Gerik looked at him with concerned eyes, however, he felt the urge to break down. What was it about those mysterious eyes that made him want to tell Gerik everything he was feeling?

Forde was very upset. He couldn't find his brother anywhere. He began to call out to him:

"Franz! Where are you, Franz?" He searched around frantically.

"Be still, Forde. Joshua and I sent him back to camp a while ago. He should be fine." Gerik patted the concerned young mans shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. Joshua felt envious and wished that Gerik would attempt to comfort him. Little did Joshua know, Gerik was wishing the same thing.

As hard as Gerik had tried to approach Joshua, Joshua would wander off. It seemed that the thin, red-headed swords master was ignoring him. Gerik wondered if it was something he had done or said, or maybe it was something he wasn't doing it?

The fog was thickening and making the search harder. Colm approached Ephraim with either good news or bad, he wasn't too sure.

"She hasn't joined the dead, Ephraim. We need to hurry up and leave, though, if we are to have any hope of being able to make it back to the campsite."

"No. We can't and won't abandon here out here. Who knows what could happen?" Ephraim stated this firmly and without hesitation. Colm shrugged and walked away.

"Suit yourself." He muttered to himself.

L'Arachael galloped towards Ephraim, Innes hot on her trail. Ephraim sighed. He didn't particularly like talking to L'Arachael…

"Ephraim," It was Innes who spoke "We need to make a plan. I suggest that we either pack up and head for home or split up and search."

L'Arachael frowned. "No! Absolutely not! This will not do!" Ephraim and Innes dropped their heads, both knowing that this conversation would give them headaches. "I suggest that we send someone on horseback to go back to base and-"

"No…that'll take too long, L'Arachael…lets just stick with Innes' plan, ok? It's much simpler…"

"Yes…please spare us the headache…"

L'Arachael ignored Innes' last remark and spoke to Dozla who had just recently appeared. "Dozla, please would you round up all the troupes? We need to discuss the plan."

"Right away, your grace!" with that, Dozla marched off to round up the soldiers. When everyone was gathered round, Ephraim began:

"Listen up, everyone! Are we all here?" Ephraim looked over the sea of faces. "Wait a minute…where's Joshua? Gerik's gone too…"

"Dammit! How could I let myself get lost out here?! Cursed fog! Putrid bushes!" Joshua seemed to be caught in twenty bushes at once. He kicked and flailed but only got himself more tangled.

His hair was stuck in various plants' snares and twigs, one of his hands was stuck in a hole in the middle of a trunk of a tree, the other was snared in some sort of thorn bush. His feet were slowly being sucked into the mud, his leather boots seeming to be digested. In his mad fury, he had dropped his sword, Audhulma, in a patch of dried up mud several feet behind him. After many minutes of struggling, he sighed and gave up. He hung limply in the bushes, eyes closed.

"Looks to me, my friend, that you don't seem to have much luck today, do you?"

Joshua's head shot up as Gerik emerged from out of the thickening mist. He was smiling and looked mildly amused. He took his time, soaking up the scenery of seeing Jehannas next king stuck in brambles and bushes.

"What are you looking at?"

"You know, it's not every day you see royalty like this…" he smirked evilly and stifled a laugh.

"Shut up! I can get out of this!" Joshua began to flail about again. His feet were now ankle deep in the smelly muck. Gerik crouched down, amused by this sight. He soon grew bored though and attempted at sparking a conversation.

"So…what are you doing out here all alone?"

"I was-urg! Looking for-graah! Natasha-erg! You?"

"Hah ha hah! Forgive me, this is just too funny! Well, I was out here looking for you, I suppose. As Jehannas only heir, I don't think it would be very wise if you went out here and got yourself killed." He paused as Joshua hung there, exhausted and utterly defeated. "You sure you don't need just a wee bit of help?"

"Maybe…just a…wee bit…"

Gerik slowly rose to his feet and began to make his way to where Joshua hung limply. When he was less then a foot away from where Joshua now hung, he noticed the tiny little scratches that had taken up residence on Joshua's face. Gerik reached out with his hand, pausing just in front of Joshua's face.

"What? What's wrong?"

"Your face…it's so…" He wanted to say how beautiful it was, how it had stolen his heart, how it had captivated his thoughts…He wanted to tell Joshua how his mystic red eyes looked when he was worried…but instead he said:

"Nothing. You've just gotten scratched up a bit…"

Joshua's heart was beating fast, like a drum. Gerik was so close, his beaten up hand inches from his face…it was too much. He couldn't explain the feeling that was overtaking him.

'It's the eyes…those damned beautiful eyes…'

Gerik abruptly shook his head.

"Is it me, or are you shrinking my friend?"

Joshua looked down at his feet which were no longer visible. He was now knee deep in the filthy, smelly mud.

"Gerik…if you have _any _intention of saving me, you might want to think about doing it sometime soon."

The soldiers back at the battlefield wandered around aimlessly, calling out for Gerik, Natasha and Joshua. Ephraim sat on a rock, head in hands. He sighed miserably. Two of his best fighters and a stave had all gone missing within the hour! What more could possibly happen?

A pale hand gently touched his shoulder. Ephraim slowly looked up into Natasha's paler than usual face.

"Wha-?"

"Um… I believe I was called for?" she gently wiped her mouth with the hem of her slightly muddy robe.

"Wha-? W-where were you?"

"Um…well, I was throwing up…I can't stand the sight of death, you see." She avoided Ephraim's eyes, which were utterly baffled.

"Then…then why did you scream?"

She turned slightly red.

"Well…you see there was this huge, horrid bug that seemed to fly out of nowhere. It startled me, I suppose…"

Ephraim groaned and buried his head in his hands. He tried to contain the growing anger brewing deep inside him. What a headache today had been…

No matter where they went, or how hard Joshua tried, he always managed to get stuck in something. His hair kept sticking in thorn bushes and his feet kept sinking. His anger was overwhelming his better judgment of where to step. Even though it pained him to admit it, he was glad Gerik was with him.

"Putrid bushes! Putrid mud!" Joshua sighed. "Maybe I should just cut my hair…" He freed his hair from a bush for the billionth time.

"Naw, you don't want to be doing that…believe you me, you'd look awfully weird with short hair."

"Bah! Why don't you get stuck?!"

"Dunno…maybe it's because I choose my footing more carefully?"

"Humph. Whatever. It's kinda getting cold out here…you sure we're going the right way?" He paused and looked around. The fog was getting thicker by the minute and it was steadily getting darker, not to mention colder.

"Nope. I have no idea where we are. I was following you.'

"We're screwed then…we're gonna die out here…" he moaned "I don't have Lady Luck on my side today, mate…" he stared down at his feet, which were sinking, yet again.

Gerik placed one of his rough hands on the smaller mans shoulder.

"Don't worry, mate. I'll see to it we both make it out of here alive." Gerik smiled down at Joshua, who stared into Gerik's eyes. "I promise you. And, I'll get you some new boots!"

Joshua's heart began to flutter again.

'Damn eyes…why do they make me feel like this?! Damned beautiful, gorgeous eyes…'

GW: Do I have to add a disclaimer for every chapter? Oh well, just to be on the safe side...I don't own Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones


	3. Chapter 3

Joshua wasn't the only one having a rotten time out in the marsh; Ephraim too was having a pretty horrid time. He kept dwelling on the fact that two of his men were out lost somewhere searching for someone who was already found! What more could go wrong?! Fortunately for him, he didn't have to look hard…

L'Arachael was fuming at the troops, claiming that they had eaten her ration of bread. This not only agitated them, but it enraged them. They were all dwindling on the brink of insanity it seemed. Even Seth was at his breaking point.

"Would you shut up already?!"

L'Arachael whipped around, ready to chew out whatever insubordinate soul had dared make that rude comment.

A little ways off, Innes sat in a tree, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. He kept his hand over his mouth so that she would not his lips moving.

"Honestly woman! Do you _ever _shut up?!"

It went on like this, Innes hurling hidden insult after hidden insult while L'Arachael tried desperately to find the one who deserved her righteous punishments. The battle of words continued on and on and on…

Joshua had found a clearing in the thickly wooded marsh and declared it as their makeshift campsite. His long red hair was matted and tangled beyond all hope of saving. His face now had many new red cuts and his clothing was torn in places. His boots were caked with thick, thick mud.

While Joshua was decorated with numerous cuts and scratches, Gerik barely had any. It was only his naked arms that had received minimum punishment. Joshua glared angrily at him, unhappy that the bigger man didn't seem to get stuck in anything. Gerik took it upon himself to begin gathering wood for a small fire.

"How do you plan to start a fire without flint?"

Wordlessly Gerik reached around to a small pouch attached at the hip. He tapped it knowingly.

"Bah."

Gerik dumped an armload of wood and began to arrange it in a stack that would burn the best. Joshua shivered in the night air and kneeled down beside the pile of wood.

The thick fog that had tricked them and tortured them began to ebb away, revealing part of the night sky. He stared into the big white circle that shined directly above them. As he stared at it, a sudden random word popped into his head.

_Time…_

Gerik struck the flint with his sword, trying hard to get the various sparks to stick to the wood. He muttered something to himself and began to strike the flint harder and faster. At long last a spark caught and hung onto the wood, giving birth to fire.

"Whew! It's a lot harder than it looks, I'll tell you that!" Gerik sat down beside Joshua and stared at the flames tongues as the licked the night sky. Joshua had his head rested on his arms which were wrapped around his knees. He was lost in thought and didn't notice Gerik had sat down beside him until he began waving his hand in front of him. Joshua blinked and looked at Gerik, a question burning in his eyes.

"Gerik…do you believe in time?"

"What? Where'd that come from?" Joshua shrugged and stared back into the flames.

The fires glow bounced off of Gerik's face as he tried to think of an answer.

"Well…I guess I don't really understand what it is you're trying to ask…"

Joshua closed his eyes and heaved a tremendous sigh.

"Never mind…"

Despite the warmth of the fire, Joshua felt very cold.

Back at the real makeshift camp, Eirika was busy explaining to L'Arachael why throwing rocks was wrong. Innes lay on the ground, resting on the side of the tree trunk. The only thing wrong with that picture was the blood trickling down his forehead and the fact that he was unconscious, oblivious to the world. A particularly large stone lay several feet away.

Artur knelt beside him, tending to the head wound and reminding himself to never make rude gestures to L'Arachael. Lute was making a large bonfire, one they could all sit around. Forde was busy painting on a blank canvas, recreating the moonlit clearing. To him, it had just screamed 'Paint me! Paint me!'

Saleh and Knoll sat not to far away, staring at the stars. Saleh was pointing out various constellations, and explaining to Knoll that different star placements helped people perform various rituals. Knoll scoffed and explained to Saleh that all things happen scientifically, with facts, not fiction. Knoll looked at Saleh and brushed some of his gray hair away uncharacteristically. Their hands accidentally touched and both blushed a bit.

Joshua had long since fallen asleep, the exhaustion of the day finally caught up to him. Gerik watched his small frame move slowly up and down, in tune with his breathing.

He smiled to himself and threw a stick into the fire. His smile slowly faded as his mind wrapped around Joshua's mysterious question.

"_Gerik…do you believe in time?"_

'Let's see…' he thought to himself 'What is time exactly? Hmm…I guess it's what…hell I don't know! Bah…all this talk about time is waaaay to deep…way over my head…I wonder what brought it into his?'

Again Gerik turned to look at the mysterious young swordsman who had now rolled onto his back. He coughed in his sleep. Audhulma rested not to far from where he lay, and maybe, just maybe it was a trick of the light, but Gerik could've sworn it was glowing slightly.

Seth had now divided all the rest of their rations. L'Arachael scoffed down hers immediately, glaring evilly at Innes. The whole group of people was circled beside the fire, except a few. Innes tenderly rubbed the bandage that covered the wound that L'Arachael had produced. He stared back at her just as evilly, slowly eating his bread, wary of another stoning. Ephraim sat staring into the fire, his mind producing grotesque images of Joshua and Gerik. What would happen if they died of starvation? Would they resort to cannibalism? Would Gerik really try to eat Joshua? If he did, Joshua didn't stand a chance…He sighed miserably and Eirika rubbed his back in an attempt to comfort him.

Forde was one of the people not sitting with the group. He was still painting the scenery and hoping to himself that Franz was ok. Kyle made his way over to where Forde sat and handed him a piece of bread. He complemented Forde's painting and returned to the group. Forde sighed and restrained the feelings of helplessness deep inside of him.

Saleh and Knoll were both speechless, unable to produce words. They merely sat side by side, watching the stars, but, chemistry was also brewing, for underneath the various folds of Knoll's robes, he was holding Saleh's hand very tightly, unable to let go.

GW: Yea, I suppose the Saleh x Knoll was a pretty random twist...but don't worry, I'll still be doing the Joshua x Gerik. Am I really supposed to do a disclaimer for every chapter? Alas...Again I shall state that I do not own Fire Emblem...

Please, if you would, R&R? My inbox is so lonely without reviews and I don't know if this story is any good or not...I'd appreciate it! Until next time!


	4. Chapter 4

Joshua awoke with a start in the middle of the cold, dark forsaken night, breathing rather heavily. Gerik lay next to him, a small but detectable smile on his carefree face. The dying embers of the once roaring fire crackled and glowed softly. He glanced up at the night sky and shivered, it was colder than he thought. He then wondered how Gerik survived, since he wore a shirt with no sleeves. As Joshua continued his heavy breathing, he noticed he was drenched in the sticky, smelly stuff known as sweat. He grimaced; he didn't like being sweaty, at all. He hadn't realized how much one could sweat! It seemed to pour out of his pores, smelling funny.

Realizing that he probably wasn't going to be able to get back to sleep, he decided to re-kindle the fire. The sweat drenched shirt stuck to his skin like glue, thoroughly annoying him. Despite the cold, he decided to strip it off. To him, the cold was better than a smelly, sticky, sweaty shirt that looked awful anyway. He laid the shirt off to the side and began to look around for fire starting materials. He found the sword, but the flint was gone…

"Blast! He must've put it back into that pouch of his! Damnation!"

Joshua glared at Gerik's sleeping innocent form. He was lying on his stomach, the pouch that contained the flint he so desired rested a few inches above his posterior.

"Curses."

He rose to his feet and debated to himself whether Gerik was a light sleeper or not. He didn't want to wake him for fear the man might mistake Joshua's actions as a sexual assault. But at the same time, Joshua didn't want to freeze to death. He groaned and made his way over to Gerik. He placed his feet firmly beside Gerik's, and slowly reached out to grab the flint.

"Slowly…slowly…almost there…" The suspense was killing him.

A sudden change in Gerik's sleeping position sent poor Joshua not only falling onto Gerik's body, but making his hand grab the other mans butt. Joshua was so unnerved that he couldn't move and could only stare dazedly at Gerik who immediately arose, staring almost angrily at the red-headed swordsman. Gerik was assuming the worst.

"What are you doing?"

Joshua turned red.

"Getting flint, why, what does it look like I'm doing?"

"It looks like you were trying to rape me or something."

"No! I was trying to get the flint when you kicked me and made me fall!"

"That sounds like a lie, my friend."

"W-what?! It's the truth, I swear!"

"Uh-huh. Then why'd you feel it so necessary to grab my butt, eh?"

"You knocked me over!"

"Right, right…" he rolled his eyes with mock sarcasm, taking in the situation that was laid before him. "Why then, aren't you wearing a shirt?"

"It was all sweaty."

"Oh ho! Why was it all sweaty then?" Gerik smiled menacingly as Joshua turned even redder.

"You're such a pervert! It's not what you think it is!"

"Than what is it?"

"I had a nightmare is all!"

Gerik stopped teasing Joshua, and sat up, pushing Joshua off of him. He had known all along that Joshua didn't have the guts to pull off a sexual attempt and was merely messing around with the poor swordsman. A look of seriousness crossed his face when Joshua mentioned his nightmare. What could've scared him so much that had caused him to sweat so much?

"What was this nightmare about?"

"None of your business." He shivered in the night air.

Gerik took notice and took the flint that Joshua had tried so desperately to get out of it's container.

"What say you we get a fire going and then talk about that dream, all right?"

Joshua looked away and shrugged his bare shoulders in a response.

The chilling night air awoke Myrrh. She got up and stared at the still burning fire shiver in the wind. She daintily extended her leathery wings and yawned. She then deemed it cold enough to scotch closer to the fire. A distance away, Innes' form could be seen, taking his turn at watch. She glanced at L'Arachael, wondering if Innes had taken advantage of her sleeping status. He had. There were black marks all over her face and on her neck. She sighed, realizing tomorrow would be just as hectic as it was today.

She then took notice of Forde's canvas, sitting not to far from where she sat. She grabbed hold of it and looked upon it with great interest, she had always wanted to see one of Forde's masterpieces! She sucked in her breath, the sight captivating her mysterious dark blue eyes.

It was a beautiful painting, the colors carefully blended to create the illusion of the night sky. It captured every essence of the valley they were camping in, taking in every little detail. She admired how he had even tried to put animal life into it by painting a deer and it's fawn hiding shyly behind a tree. Close by was a figure she vaguely recognized. It was Franz, Forde's younger brother, gallantly resting upon his steed with a lance in his hand, his face wearing a beaming, rich and radiant smile.

She let her gaze drift to where Forde was sleeping, looking upon his face. What was usually calm and collected was now scrunched up with worry and discomfort. She smiled, admiring the brotherly love that could only be experienced through siblings and wished that maybe she had a sister with whom she could confide in. She lay the painting to rest and returned to watching the fire drift away in the sky.

The crackling of the fire burning furiously through the wood surrounded them on all sides. Joshua had his arms wrapped around his legs which were drawn up to his chest. Gerik put one last log into the fire and then planted himself down beside Joshua.

"Now, what about this dream then?"

Not moving from his position, he began to elaborate.

"Well, it was really weird. I was wandering through this deserted town, all alone, and it was so quiet. There were lots of shops and things, but no one, not a soul, was there! The doors were all closed, seemingly to have been nailed shut from the inside. The windows showed no picture through the glass, only dust and dirt. Seeing nothing that seemed out of the ordinary, I continued to walk along until I came upon this fort like structure. The doors were wide open, so I walked in…"

He paused, not wanting to go on.

"You went in and…" Gerik gestured for him to continue.

"Well, I went in and everyone I had ever known was standing there, my friends, family, enemies, everyone! I was so happy that I had finally found other people besides myself! I almost wept with joy! Unfortunately, something seemed wrong…No one was talking or moving, not even if I talked to them. It was scary and unnerving, so I attempted to grab at one of their arms, telling them to wake up! To snap out of it! But they wouldn't budge. They had all turned to stone…they had been frozen and nothing I did seemed to work, I couldn't re-awaken them."

Gerik's thoughts wandered as he watched the fires dancing glow illuminate Joshua's rarely serious face.

'Should I try to comfort him or what?'

Joshua fought back tears as he remembered the looks on his friends' faces. They were all deformed, twisted and convoluted with pain. He couldn't bare the thought of any of his friends in any kind of pain at all! As hard as he tried, a single tear erupted and drizzled down his pale face. Gerik's well trained eye caught this small movement and took action.

"Are you ok?" he finally decided to comfortingly place his arm around Joshua's bare shoulders.

"Fine" Joshua murmured as he swiftly wiped the tear away. He leaned against Gerik's body, sitting up close to him, closing his eyes in peace and comfort.

"Knoll?"

Knoll didn't stir.

Saleh nudged him around until he finally woke up.

"Nn…huh? What?"

"I think I just had a vision, Knoll."

Knoll yawned, clearly showing his disinterest.

"What kind?"

Saleh thought carefully about his next words.

"Pain…everyone in pain, writhing, agonizing pain…everyone was screaming and crying out for help, and yet, I could do nothing…"

"Saleh"

"Yes?"

"That wasn't a vision, it was a nightmare. Go back to sleep, you'll be fine." With that, Knoll rolled over and went back to sleep, leaving Saleh to mull over what Knoll had said.

"It seemed pretty vivid to me." He muttered. Then he too, drifted off to sleep beside Knoll.


	5. Chapter 5

"Hey, Gerik?"

"Yes, Joshua?"

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Gerik tromped through the murky brown swamp water with the small red headed swordsman in his arms. When Joshua had awoken, he realized he was being moved slowly up and down, as if at sea.

Blearily he had opened his eyes, his surroundings momentarily out of focus and unfamiliar. The sunlight gently streamed through the grey-green canopy of trees above his head, making it seem as though a golden halo surrounded Gerik's head, but Joshua knew better. He could see the horns as well.

"Well," he began, "you were sleeping so peacefully, it seemed a right shame to wake you up, 'specially with that dream you were going on about last night."

Joshua turned a little red at this and avoided his eyes.

"I figured that the sooner we get out of here the better, so, this is my solution I suppose."

"Do me a favor, Gerik…" said Joshua with an exasperated voice.

"Sure"

"Put me down."

Without a moments hesitation, and a rather blank look on his face, Gerik immediately and without warning dropped Joshua into the filthy muck. A small splash was made as Joshua landed roughly on his behind. He shot back up immediately and fixed an evil glare upon Gerik, who, with difficulty, was keeping a straight, unemotional face.

"What the hell was that for?!"

"You told me to."

Gerik could almost see the steam coming out of Joshua's ears and he smirked to himself. He loved to toy with Joshua.

"You bastard! I'll lop off your bloody head!" he reached towards his hip, expecting to feel the hilt of Audhulma, his sword, but instead found nothing. He gazed down at his empty side and then fixed an absolutely horrid face upon Gerik.

"Gerik…where's my sword?"

(o.O)

"Hey, Eirika, where's L'Arachael?" asked Ephraim as he looked about their campsite, looking for the crazed priestess.

"She's still asleep," replied Eirika, getting to her feet, "Why?"

Ephraim turned, exasperated to his younger sister.

"We're so gonna have to tie her down…lest we want a dead prince on our hands."

"Innes, you mean?"

"Yes…who else would be daring enough to do such a stunt?"

"What'd he do?"

"Drew all _over _her face…"

Ephraim sighed and Eirika placed a reassuring arm around her brother.

"Don't worry…we'll take care of it."

She rounded up a few people and got them to help transport L'Arachael in her sleep. They brought her to a large oak tree and quickly bound her to the tree.

Myrrh was beginning to pack up her things when a glimmer in a nearby bush caught her eyes. She approached the shrub slowly and silently, unaware of what was hiding in its leaves. Slowly she parted a few stems and looked into its depths.

A monkey, a rather petit one, with an orange-ish red coat peered up at her with big green eyes. In its small hand was the hilt of a rather large sword Myrrh recognized immediately as Joshua's sword Audhulma. She gasped and let the leaves cover up the gap.

"Quickly! Come quickly!" Myrrh cried, pointing to the bush where the monkey stood. "Joshua's been turned into a monkey!"

Ephraim, as well as Innes, who had come out of hiding, Forde, Knoll and Saleh joined her and she spread apart the bushes stems and they all stared at the rather frightened monkey.

Forde finally broke the silence.

"What manner of magic can turn man into beast?"

"Well," started Saleh "there was legend of an old goddess living around these parts that lured mortal men into her den and then turned them into beasts of various nature…"

The monkey shivered and tried to make a run for it.

Forde quickly caught it by the scruff of its neck and held it up to his face. He gazed at it skeptically and highly doubted the monkey was Joshua.

"Careful!" exclaimed Ephraim in response to Forde's quick action "If that _is _Joshua, we need to treat him gently."

'_I highly doubt this is Joshua…' _thought Forde as the monkey squirmed and tried to break free from his strong grasp.

"How do we turn him back?" questioned Innes.

This time, Knoll answered the question.

"Well, I've heard that in the very top floor of the Tower of Valni, an ancient tome exists that is supposed to be capable of all sorts of things."

"How do we get there from here…" muttered Ephraim to himself as he delved into thought.

"How do we plan on keeping the little rascal from escaping?" asked Forde as the monkey continued to attempt his escape.

Ephraim smirked at this.

"Why, keep him on a leash of course!"

(GW: Page break!)

"I can't believe you lost Audhulma! That was Jehanna's _sacred _relic! _Sacred!_" fumed Joshua as he stormed through the murk.

Gerik had stopped paying attention to Joshua's ranting a while ago, not wanting to bring up exactly _how _he had lost it.

"Joshua…"

"No! I don't want to talk to you no more!"

"But…"

"No!"

"Wait-"

"I said n-"

Joshua stepped off a ridge and before he could get his balance back, tumbled into the river that flowed 10 feet below.

"Joshua!" cried Gerik, peering over the edge.

"NO!" cried Joshua as he was whisked away by the gently rapids.

Gerik sighed and ran along the river bank in pursuit of his angered friend.

C4n j00 5p34k l337?

A half hour later Gerik managed to find Joshua lying on the river's edge, unconscious from a nasty head on collision with a rock. Gerik gingerly picked up his friend and carried him to an open clearing not too far away. The sun was slowly setting as he lay down Joshua and took out his handy-dandy flint. He gathered some sticks and some dried grass and started a fire. He watched as his friend, soaking wet, shivered in the growing cold and knew what he must do.

With his heart beating fast, Gerik began to strip the wet clothes off of Joshua's body and laid them out to dry. He turned to look at his naked, sleeping friend and could feel his face turning red. He quickly scolded himself for looking and rummaged through his pack. He pulled out a spare cloak he could've lent to Joshua the previous night but had decided to savor having Joshua so close to him, and laid it over his thin frame.

He rested back against a nearby log and decided to give his eyes a brief moment of rest.

"Okay," began Ephraim" which direction should we take if we're to make our way towards the Tower of Valni?"

"Well, we're only a little west of Jehanna, so I vote we take a north westerly direction." Said Innes thoughtfully watching L'Arachael struggle against the tree.

"Ok then, we head for the north west!" declared Ephraim proudly. "But…now the question is how to get there without L'Arachael dismembering Innes…"

(GW: How indeed...)

Joshua groaned and rubbed the sore spot on his head, absentmindedly rolling over onto his stomach. A cool breeze went by and Joshua flopped right back over.

"Good to see you awake, sleeping beauty."

Gerik smiled as Joshua, utterly confused, stared at Gerik, wondering why he was nude.

"Where…where are my clothes?" he sat up and made sure he was completely covered in the process.

"Well, if you had heeded my warnings, you _wouldn't _have fallen into that river and you _wouldn't _have gotten soaked to the bones and it _wouldn't _have been necessary for you to be stripped, but you didn't so all those wouldn't-s became a did."

"How…how dare you! You've really crossed the line this time, Gerik; now give me back my clothes!"

"Nope, their still wet."

Joshua gaped at Gerik, who stared unconcerned at the frantic prince. Finally Joshua looked away and noticed the fired. He made sure that the cloak was wrapped tightly around his waist before he got up to get closer to the warm fire. Gerik too stood up and sat next to Joshua.

"Back off, I'm cold, naked and angry."

"I can fix everything except your nudity…" said Gerik smoothly and Joshua could feel his heart beat quicken. Gerik wrapped his strong arm gently across Joshua's small shoulders and stared down at him with mysterious, glowing eyes.

"I can keep you warm…" he whispered into Joshua's ear as his free hand teasingly worked it's way across Joshua's body, making him scooch closer to Gerik.

Joshua could feel his heart working in overdrive and the adrenaline course through his body as he gazed up into Gerik's relaxed face.

"I can remove that angry mood you're in, but I won't fix your lack of clothing material."

Gerik teased Joshua a little longer before he wrapped his hand around Joshua's red-haired head and drew his lips dangerously close to his own before finally pressing them together.

And Joshua didn't fight back.


End file.
